BetterSchools:

ResourceMaterialsforSchoolHeadsin

Africa

Aboutthe
Modules
Preface
General
Introduction StaffSelection
Contents Introduction
Introductory SomeoftheproceduresofstaffselectionareprescribedbytheMinistryofEducation
Module orbythePublicServiceCommission.Theseprescriptionsmustbestudiedbythose
involvedinselectingstaff.Itwillthenbeclearinwhichareasinitiativecanand
ModuleOne shouldbetaken.
ModuleTwo
Individualstudytime:3hours
ModuleThree
ModuleFour Learningoutcomes
Afterworkingthroughthisunityoushouldbeableto:
ModuleFive understandtheprocessesofstaffselection
understandtherolesofthekeyfiguresinselectingstaffmembers.
ModuleSix
ModuleSeven
Typesofvacancy
Copyright
Avacancymaybeeitherpermanentortemporaryinnature.
Home
Activity1.1
(1)Whattypeofvacancyoccursmostfrequentlyatyourschool?
Visitour (2)Whatdifferencedoesthetypeofvacancymakewhenyouareconsideringan
appointment?
website
15minutes

Comments
Whenapermanentappointmentistobemade,itiscrucialtoensurethattheright
personwiththemostappropriateskillsisappointed.

Foratemporaryappointment,thismayormaynotbecritical:itwilloftendependon
theperiodoftimeforwhichtheappointmentistobemade.Whileoneshouldtryto
appointsomeonewiththeappropriateskills,itmaybemoreimportanttohavea
committedteacherintheclassroomratherthanleavingthepostunfilledsimply
becausenoonewithexactlytherightcombinationofskillscanbefound.

Assessmentofneeds
Avacancyonthestaffoftheschooloffersanopportunityforareassessmentof
needs.Insomecasesitwillbedesirabletofindsomeonewhocanofferthesame
combinationofskillsasthepersonwhohasleftthestaffbutonmanyoccasionsit
maybebettertorationaliseortointroducenewskills.

Activity1.2
Ateacherhasrecentlyresignedfromyourschool.
(1)Whatstepswillyoutaketoassesstheneedsofyourschoolinreplacingthat
particularteacher?
(2)Whatfactorswillinfluenceyourassessmentofthoseneedssubjectchoice,
gender,extramuralabilities?Listasmanyasyoucan.
15minutes
Comments
Asanexample,mathematicsmayhavebeenfragmentedamongseveralmembersof
staffbecauseitwasasubjectinwhichnoonewasqualifiedandwhichnoonereally
wantedtoteach.Irrespectiveofwhatsubjectsweretaughtbytheteacherwholeftthe
school,thismaybeanopportunitytosecuretheservicesofamathematicsspecialist.

Inassessingneeds,theschoolheadshouldconsultwiththerestoftheschool
management,withtheschoolboard(committee),andpossiblywithothermembersof
staff.

Advertisingtheposition
Differentministriesfollowdifferentproceduresforadvertisingvacantposts.

Activity1.3
Youhavethetaskofplacinganadvertforascienceteacherforyourschool.What
informationdoyouthinkshouldbemadeavailabletoensurethatthecorrect
applicantappliesforthepost?
15minutes

Comments
Someministrieshavecircularsissuedatregularintervals,inwhichallvacantposts
areadvertised.Otherministriesrelyonthepublicmediaforadvertisingvacantposts.
Sometimesacombinationofthetwoapproachesisused.Insomesituations,
particularlywherethereisacriticalneed,aschoolmayplaceanadvertisementatits
ownexpense,whileforshorttermtemporaryappointmentsitmaynotbenecessary
toadvertiseatall.

Whethertheadvertisementisplacedbytheschoolorwhetherinformationforan
advertisementissubmittedtoaneducationoffice,careshouldbetakenthatthe
informationsubmittedisclear,correct,andcomplete,andthatitissubmittedasearly
aspossible.

Theschoolshouldkeepacopyoftheinformationsubmitted.

Sometypesofappointmentcanbevacatedontwentyfourhours'notice,whilefor
othersamonth'snoticeisrequired.Butamonthdoesnotnormallyallowsufficient
timefortheadvertisingandfillingofthevacancy.Theschoolheadshoulddevelopan
atmosphereamongthestaffwhichwillencouragethemtogivenoticeoftheir
intentiontoleaveatasearlyadateaspossible,sothatthepostcanbefilledwith
minimumdisruptiontotheactivitiesoftheschool.

Selection
Selectionshouldneversimplybeonthebasisofdocumentssubmitted,although
thesewillplayanimportantrole.Documentsshouldbecarefullystudiedto
determine:
whethertheapplicantappearstomeettheadvertisedrequirements
theapplicant'spreviousemploymentrecord
thecarewhichtheapplicanthastakeninfillingouttheapplication.
Thenecessaryfollowupshouldthenbeundertaken.Watchoutforpossibleforgeries.

Activity1.4
Designanapplicationformforateachingpostwhichwillprovidealltheinformation
yourequireforapreliminarysifting.
30minutes

Comments
Applicantswhodonotmeettheadvertisedrequirementscannotbeconsideredfor
permanentappointment,whileinshorttermtemporarypostsexceptionscanbemade.
Ifcopiesofcertificatesareenclosed,itmaybenecessarytoverifytheirauthenticity,
eveniftheyarecertifiedastruecopies.

Thepreviousemploymentrecordwillindicatewhethertheapplicant'sexperience
matcheshisorherqualification.Itwillalsorevealwhethertheapplicanthas
progressedfromonepositionofresponsibilitytoanother,or,ontheotherhand,
whetherheorsheissomeonewhoapparentlycannotstayinanyjobforlong.Ifatall
possible,theapplicant'ssupervisorinthemostrecentpostshouldbeconsultedabout
hisorherabilities.Awrittenrecordshouldbekeptoftheseinquiries.

Theappearanceoftheapplicationisimportant.Acandidatewhohastakenlittlecare
overcompletingtheformandattachingnecessarydocumentation,isnotlikelytotake
muchcareinlessonpreparationorinfollowinguppupils'difficulties.

Duringthissiftingexercise,thosecandidateswhoareclearlyunsuitablewillbe
eliminatedandshouldbeadvisedaccordingly.Ifmanyapparentlysuitablecandidates
remain,furthersiftingcanbedonebymakingcontactwiththeirformersupervisors.
Thosewhoremainonashortlistofsuitablecandidatesshouldbeinterviewedforthe
position.

Interviewing
Applicantswhohavebeenshortlistedshouldbeadvisedingoodtimeoftheir
interview.Ifatallpossibleitshouldbearrangedforatimewhichisnotgoingto
interferewiththeirpresentjob.Approximately40minutesshouldbeallowedforthe
interview,afterwhichthemembersofthepanelshouldhaveabout20minutesto
discusstheirimpressionsoftheapplicantbeforethenextinterviewstarts.

Activity1.5
Designastandardformofquestionstoaskduringtheinterviewofaprospective
teacher.
20minutes

Comments
Interviewingshouldbeundertakenbyapaneloftwoorthree.Toolargeapanel
mightintimidatethecandidate,whileleavingtheinterviewingtoasingleperson
placesanextremelyheavyresponsibilityonthatperson.Remember,twoheadsare
betterthanone.

Iftheinterviewingisbeingdoneattheschoolthepanelmightconsistoftheschool
head,thedeputy(oraheadofdepartmentinthesubjectfieldforwhichan
appointmentistobemade)andarepresentativeoftheparentcommittee.The
membersofthepanelshoulddecideamongthemselveswhoisgoingtoheadthe
panelforaparticularinterview.Thispersonwilltaketheleadinaskingquestions,but
shouldalsogivetheothermembersofthepanelanopportunitytoaskquestions.

Allmembersofthepanelshouldbethoroughlyfamiliarwiththedocuments
submittedbytheapplicantandwiththeresultsofanytelephoneorotherinquiries
whichhavebeenmade.

Theassumptionwheninterviewingstartsisthatallthosetobeinterviewedare
equallysuitablefortheposition.Ifthiswerenotthecase,thelesssuitableoneswould
havebeeneliminatedwithoutaninterview.Therearetwopurposesoftheinterview:

1Toconfirmthesuitabilityofthecandidates.
2Todistinguishclearlywhichcandidateisbest,whichonesecondbest,andsoon.

Whentheapplicantisshowninfortheinterview,heorsheshouldbeintroducedto
themembersofthepanel.Theheadofthepanelshouldengagetheinterviewee
brieflyincasualconversationtoestablisharelaxedatmosphere.
Questionsshouldfocusonthejobwhichtheapplicantwillbeexpectedtoperform,
andmaytaketheformofposingproblemsandaskingtheapplicanthowheorshe
woulddealwiththem,orofaskinghowroutinetaskswouldbetackled.Forexample:

1Howwouldyoudealwithapupilwhofailstobringwrittenhomeworktoschool,
andsaysithasbeendone,butleftathome?Howwouldyoudealwiththesamepupil
thesecondtimethishappens?

2Howwouldyoudealwithagroupofadozenpupilswhohaveperformedvery
poorlyinatest?

3Whatsortofpreparationwouldyoudobeforeconductingalessonatgrade10level
onanEnglishpoem?

4Howdoyouintegratetheoryandlaboratoryworkinthegrade12curriculum?

5Howwouldyourespondifyourheadofdepartmentweretogiveyouwhatyou
consideredtobeanunfairassignment?

Attheendoftheinterviewtheapplicantshouldbegiventheopportunitytoask
questions,thenthankedforcoming,andadvisedthattheresultoftheinterviewwill
becommunicatedassoonaspossible.

Duringtheinterviewandinthecourseofthediscussionwhichfollowsit,briefnotes
shouldbemadeoftheapplicant'sresponsestoquestions.(Itmightbenecessaryata
laterstagetoremindthesuccessfulcandidateofaresponsemadeduringthe
interview!)

Appointment
Aftertheinterviews,theprocessofappointingthebestcandidateshouldbekeptas
briefaspossible.Thebestcandidateshouldbecontactedsoonaftertheinterview,
toldthatheorsheisbeingnominatedfortheposition,andaskedwhetherhe/sheis
likelytoaccept.(Itmaybethattheapplicanthasbeenshortlistedfortwoorthree
posts,andwouldactuallypreferoneoftheothers.)

Activity1.6
Draftaletteradvisinganapplicantthatheorshehasbeenunsuccessful.
10minutes

Finalisingtheappointment
IngovernmentservicethechiefexecutiveofficeroftheMinistryofEducation
normallyhasfinalresponsibilityfortheselectionandappointmentofteachingstaff.
Thisauthorityisdelegatedtoanappropriateofficial,whowillprobablynotbethe
sameforalllevelsofposts.Forexample,authoritytofillashorttermtemporarypost
mightrestwiththeschoolhead,whileaninspectororchiefinspectormightbe
responsibleforthepermanentappointmentofteachers,andtheheadofaregional
officefortheappointmentofaschoolhead.

Ifthepowertofinalisetheappointmentdoesnotrestwithamemberofthe
interviewingcommittee,thenecessarydocumentationandrecommendationshouldbe
forwardedtotheresponsibleofficialasspeedilyaspossible,andifthereseemstobe
unduedelayinactingontherecommendationtheheadoftheinterviewingcommittee
shouldfollowup,asthereisalwaysthedangerofagoodcandidatebeinglostto
anotherpost.

Thesuccessfulapplicantshouldreceiveoralconfirmationoftheappointmentassoon
aspossible,followedupbyaformalletterofappointment(settingoutanyconditions
attachingtotheappointment)andaclearjobdescription.Thesuccessfulapplicant
shouldsigntheformsfortheacceptanceofthepost.

Summary
Thecorrectdecisionsmadeatthisstageoftheappointmentofmemberstothestaff
willtoalargeextentdeterminetheatmosphereandgeneraltoneofaschool.
Judiciousplanningatanearlystageoftheprocess,forexample,thecareful
compilingoftheinformationfortheadvertisementofthepost,cansavetheschool
headconsiderabletimeandpossibleheadachesinthefuture.